A monarchy is permissible in Islam. As long as the ruler governs according to the Shariah, it does not matter whether he is a king, president or prime minister. The requirement for the validity of an Islamic government is the rule of the Shariah. It is the obligatory function of the ruler to impose Shar’i rule in the country. When he does so he will be a true Khalifah. The present Saudi government is bad, not because it is a monarchy or because the predecessors of the present king had usurped the country from the Ottoman Sultan, but because the government presently in Saudi Arabia is un-Islamic.

There is no Shar’i rule. This applies to all Muslim governments th roughout the world, whether they are monarchies or so-called democracies. All Muslim governments today are bad without exception. Saudi Arabia cannot be singled out for criticism. All Muslim governments of today are birds of a feather in so far as their un-Islamic governing systems are concerned. Those who single out Saudi Arabia for criticism are influenced by the Shiahs of Iran.